273 Seats to Be Reserved for Women; Delimitation to Be Based on 2011 Census Instead of 2027 Exercise
BuzzBytes News Desk
New Delhi, Apr 8: In a landmark move aimed at fast-tracking women’s political representation, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a draft bill to amend the Women’s Reservation Act, paving the way for implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies from the 2029 general elections.
Sources said the decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where the proposed amendments to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam — enacted in 2023 — were cleared to operationalise the long-awaited quota ahead of schedule.
Under the proposed changes, the strength of the Lok Sabha is set to increase significantly from the present 543 seats to 816 seats, of which 273 seats will be reserved for women, maintaining the one-third quota. The reservation will follow a vertical framework, ensuring due representation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) within the women’s quota.
The government has also extended the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament and convened a special three-day sitting from April 16 to 18, during which the amendment bill is expected to be introduced and passed.
The move seeks to overcome a key limitation in the existing law, which linked implementation of women’s reservation to the delimitation exercise based on the 2027 Census. Under that provision, the quota would have come into effect only around 2034. However, the fresh amendments propose that delimitation be carried out on the basis of the 2011 Census, thereby advancing implementation to 2029.
A parallel exercise is also proposed for state legislative assemblies, where seats will be reserved for women on a pro-rata basis across states.
Officials indicated that two legislative measures will be brought before Parliament — a Constitution Amendment Bill to tweak provisions of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (Constitution 106th Amendment Act), and an ordinary bill to amend the Delimitation Act to enable redrawing of constituencies in line with the revised framework.
Once cleared by Parliament, the proposed changes are expected to come into force by March 31, 2029, allowing reservation to be implemented in the next Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls in states including Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh.
The development marks a major political and legislative step towards enhancing women’s participation in governance, a reform that has been pending for decades.
Addressing a public rally in Kerala on April 4, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called upon all political parties to support the initiative, describing it as a matter of national importance linked to women’s empowerment.
“This is an issue related to women’s empowerment… all parties should support it with an open mind and without political calculations and become partners in winning the trust of the country’s mothers and sisters,” the Prime Minister had said.
The Women’s Reservation law, officially known as the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, received Presidential assent from Droupadi Murmu in September 2023, marking a historic moment in India’s legislative journey. However, its implementation remained contingent on delimitation, which the current amendments now seek to address.
The proposed overhaul is expected to significantly reshape India’s electoral landscape by expanding parliamentary representation, ensuring gender inclusion, and strengthening democratic participation across the country.
